By Khalil Abdullah, Ethnic Media Services
For a family in Billings, Montana, a personal apocalypse rode into their lives over the telephone. The voice was indistinct, but the circumstances were clear. Her grandson was in jail; didn’t want his parents to know just yet – sort that out later – but desperately in need of immediate bail money. Though the February snowstorm was heavy, she gathered the things necessary to make that drive to the bank to withdraw the funds. Of course the grandfather, her husband, insisted on accompanying her.
“On a very steep hill here in town,” recounted Billings Police Department Detective Brett Lapham, “she loses control of her car and starts sliding down the road, hits a curb, hits some mailboxes, clips a parked vehicle, which causes her vehicle to roll on its side. Both individuals are trapped in the car and have to be extricated by the fire department. Unfortunately, her husband passed away due to his injuries.”
Lapham spoke at a media symposium on the latest variety of scams in Montana. Sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the event underscored the FTC’s mantra: scammers follow the headlines. Now, of course, COVID-19 virus related scams are ubiquitous.
Read the full story at Ethnic Media Services | Scams.
